


Seven(?) Days

by Zozo0_219



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Photographer, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Crimes & Criminals, F/M, High School Theater, Kid Fic, Light Angst, M/M, Maes Hughes Lives, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PDA, Pre-Slash, Speakeasies, Waiting, Wartime, dramatic!Roy, non-theater kid Ed, theater kid Roy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-08-19 18:23:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20214232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zozo0_219/pseuds/Zozo0_219
Summary: RoyEd Week 2019!!!!!Day 1- Modern Au (Ed is roped into helping out with his high school theater production by his bf Roy, much drama and fluff ensues. Just a cute little exploration of the ship)Day 2- Colorless (Ed, a Photography teacher, awaits his photojournalist husband to come back from an assignment in a war zone whilst his class cannot seem to do their projects right)Day 3- [LAZY DAY OOPS]Day 4- Fantasy Au (Hogwarts! Yule Ball! Au. Roy is a Triwizard Champion, and Ed is more than a little worried for his safety. Queue the Yule Ball, where dancing may just solve their problems) {Originally for Day 3}Day 5- Historical Au (Roaring 20's! Au--Roy owns a high-end restaurant, and the speakeasy behind their neighboring flower shop is NOT helping his business at ALL) {PART 1}Day 6- PART 2 OF DAY 5 AUDay 7- "Wait for me" (Roy returns from the war with two Ishvallan orphans in tow, or, Roy leaves to fight and returns to Ed with a family)Enjoy!





	1. Day 1- Modern AU

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoy! Leave a review if you do, I really appreciate it!!

Ed stared bleakly down at the many slides and switches laid in front of him. He had finished his homework an hour ago, so now all he could do was sit in the small booth and watch his classmates argue with the Drama teacher below him. ‘Theater People’ He thought with an eye-roll, ‘Roy’s real lucky I’m such an upstanding boyfriend for helping him like this.’

“Edward, honey, turn on the presets for scene five!” Mrs. Lamine, a Drama teacher very befitting of the title, called from the stage as she directed Ed’s aforementioned boyfriend and a few other students to stand over little strips of colored tape. 

Ed gave a quick thumbs-up and pressed one of the preset buttons, and all lights but for some red and blue lights on-stage dimmed or turned completely off (he had watched in trepidation as two techies hung the gel-covered lamps from bars over the stage on a rickety-at-best scaffolding a week ago). 

The board had been easy to learn, compared to the “computer stuff” (as Roy dubbed it) Ed worked on for fun. His only real qualm with his current situation was just about everything else about participating in a high school theater production when he could be doing just about anything else. Stupid Colin and his broken legs, and the wheelchair non-accessible light booth. Stupid Roy and Al, too, for their dumb influence over Ed’s emotions. And, most of all, stupid theater for having a production in a week and not enough funding to hire a booth guy.

With a sigh, Ed leaned back in his chair and watched Val Smith screw up her lines for the umpteenth time that hour. 

\--------

Of everything he hated about staying until seven at school every day for an extracurricular he couldn’t care less about, the sheer nosiness of the actresses (especially Val fucking Smith) got to Ed the most. 

They were running a few scenes with just the house lights on for the moment, so Ed had nothing to do until Roy and Jean managed to remember their swordfight choreography the whole way through (and it wasn’t like Ed didn’t absolutely love watching Roy accidentally hit Jean in the shins with the prop lance, but at this point they would actually have battle wounds when they weren’t even really supposed to touch each other!). Suddenly, Ed saw two of his classmates, Christy and Paninya, approach the light booth in his periphery. He hadn’t heard the balcony door creak open as it usually did, so their sudden appearance took him by surprise. Their all-too innocent expressions didn’t a thing to soothe Ed’s irritation, either. 

“Hey, Ed.” Paninya greeted quietly as they slid into the booth and crouched next to him, filling up the little free space he had. 

“What’s up?” Ed asked nonchalantly. He knew from their smiles that they weren’t just up here to ask after his well-being.

“So… You and Roy are an item.” Christy stated.

Ed blinked, taken off- guard. Sure he wasn’t exactly private about his relationship with Roy, but none of the theater girls had previously so much as acknowledged it (Ed had his suspicions it was because they quietly resented Ed for snagging their dream boy away from them). He slowly said, “Yeah…. So what?”

Paninya shook her head quickly, “No, we don’t care or anything. We think you two are really good together! We were just curious about something. Actually, we have a bet, you see.” The scheming smile was back.

‘Oh God,’ Ed thought.

Christy asked through a little giggle, “Who tops?”

\------------------------

“You’re not really still salty about running lights, are you?” Roy asked incredulously. True, it had been a week, but Ed was nothing if not persistent. Plus, he had one more whole week of this ordeal, and if he had to deal, so could Roy. However, Ed hadn’t quite planned on his “salt” affecting his current situation, which saw him straddling Roy in the dark-haired boy’s beanbag chair, an amused smirk cast upon his bright red blush. 

Ed scowled through his flushed cheeks, removing his hands from where they had been previously removing Roy’s shirt, “Is now really the time?”

“You’ve never pouted so much during a thrall of passion; I had to ask.”

Ed groaned, “Don’t call it a thrall of passion, ya dork! I was just reminded of stupid Christy and Paninya and their dumb bet.” 

Roy laughed loudly, “Oh geez, of all the times!”

“Yeah I know, right?” Ed scowled, yelping a bit when Roy ran his hand lightly up his waist.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re helping out. I like getting to see you after school.”

Ed’s blush could have melted ice, “Shut up and continue doing what you were doing, you ass.” Roy laughed, yet compiled all the same. 

\---  
That Thursday night, it was Al’s turn to bear witness to Ed’s tirades (not that he hadn’t had an earful already). It was the night before opening night, and they had just come back home from the final dress rehearsal, Al still smeared in stage makeup, and Ed wearing a scowl to beat all other scowls. 

“Fuck the stupid theater!” He growled, throwing his backpack onto the couch as Al pulled out a Tupperware of leftover dinner with the note ‘Left this out for you boys to eat after rehearsals. Dad and I won’t be home until tomorrow morning. Don’t get hurt, we don’t want you two to turn up at work. <3 – Mom’

“Mom and Dad left out some food, Brother. Let’s eat.”

Ed nodded, “Did Mom leave a crappy ER joke?”

Al shrugged, “It’s more of a warning this time. Hurry up and sit, I’ll toss the food in the mic for a sec.” He did so, keeping his back to Ed at the kitchen table as the food spun around cooking, “Ya know, I’m really glad you’re doing this for us. I know you’d rather be doing other stuff.”

Ed huffed, “What? How could you tell?”

“I really hope that was sarcasm, Brother.” Al turned to see Ed, legs kicked up on the table scrunching up the decorative table cloth their mom insisted on laying out to “accent the fruit bowl”.

“Do you know me, Al? I’m made of sarcasm. And anyway, it’s not a huge problem, I’m sure Roy would have just bugged me until I gave in anyway. I just don’t see how you can stand being around those people for so many hours every day!”

Al rolled his eyes over the mild jab at his friends, “I mean, you chose to date a theater guy, so I don’t know what you can really say about that.”

“But it’s Roy.”

“Yes, exactly my point. The biggest personality in our theater class: Roy Mustang.”

“What’re you getting at?” Ed asked.

“Well,” Al responded, “I’m just saying that if you can handle Roy every day and choose to date him, then you can deal with Val Smith for a few hours.”

“But it’s different! Roy’s cute when he’s being dramatic. Val makes me want to punch something.”

Al shook his head, “You confuse me, Brother.” The microwave beeped, and Al served up the warm food. Ed took a large bite of his pasta.

“You nervous about the show, Al?” He asked around the food in his mouth, changing pace. 

Al blinked, “A bit, but I’ve got a pretty minor role. I’m more nervous that our poor excuse of a tech class will screw up a set or not get the right stuff onstage between scenes or something like that and throw off the flow of the performance.” Al paused to eat some food before continuing, “What about you?”

Ed cocked a brow, “You know I don’t a fuck about this play.”

“But you’ve got a pretty important job. If you mess up a light cue, everyone will freak out and mess up.”

“So? I won’t fuck it up.” Ed shrugged.

“You’re not even a bit nervous for Roy? You don’t give a fuck about the play, but you do give a fuck about him.” Ed paused, wishing Al didn’t know his thought process so well.

“Well… I’m worried that Roy’ll be a big drama queen about wanting me to do well if that’s what you mean. You know how he is.” 

“But I thought you said he was cute when he was dramatic.” Al giggled at Ed’s blush. 

“Not when he’s being dramatic over ME!”

Al burst into real laughter over his brother’s flustered face, “He’s probably gonna be more nervous about himself messing up than you, in all honesty.”

“But he’s, like, the best actor y’all have (no offense)! He’s got nothing to worry about.” Ed defended. In all honesty, it hadn’t crossed Ed’s mind that Roy may doubt himself onstage. Sure, he had some self-confidence issues (it took Ed ages to convince Roy to come out to his friends- all part of the theater- about their relationship), but he seemed so… relaxed when he acted! Ed just assumed he’d be less unsure in himself in that area. 

Al sighed, “He is the best- that’s why he gets super anxious backstage. He’s got a reputation to uphold. It only happens right before he has to go on, so I’m not surprised you haven’t noticed, but he gets all freaked out and panicky. Almost threw up once.”

“Ew, Al, I’m eating!” Ed groaned, squeamish with puke in conversation, “So what you’re saying is that if I mess up, it’ll get to Roy’s head and he’ll have a panic attack?”

“I didn’t say that! God, Ed.”

“Well you don’t have to, because I won’t mess up and Roy will be great, and you’ll kill it, and this play will be a hit. I didn’t waste two weeks on this damn thing to fail my one job opening night.” 

Ed stood with that comment, scraping his leftover food into the garbage (Al winced at the waste) and taking his leave to go finish his homework with a quick “Goodnight” to Al. The younger Elric brother to the last bite of his dinner with a smug look on his face, having new confidence in Ed’s secret enjoyment of the theater. All he had to do now was get through opening night, and the rest would be a breeze. 

\-----

At last, it was opening day, and Ed could see the light at the end of the theater-shaped tunnel. Only today and the weekend to go before he’d have his afternoons back and Roy would be indebted to him interminably. That is, Roy would be indebted to him once he got out of whatever dumb slump he’d been in since that morning. He’d been distracted during all of the classes they shared, and not just his usual “too cool to take notes” kind of distracted! Ed had his suspicions it was because of the play, considering what Al had told him last night. 

At lunch, Ed and his friends ate in their usual stomping grounds- the chemistry teacher’s classroom. He’d let them eat there on the conditions that they clean up after themselves and help set up for his labs after they eat. He entered the room, surprised to find his brother and Roy there, chatting with James Slayton (a classmate of Al’s who liked to hang around Ed’s group). It wasn’t unheard of to find either boy in the chem room with Ed, he had assumed they would be eating with their theater friends before the big show. 

“I didn’t expect you guys to be here.” Ed said when Roy and Al noticed him set down his backpack and lunch tray at his usual desk, “Not hanging out with the cast?”

Roy shook his head vigorously, “They wanted to run lines for the first act while we ate. If I have to hear that script before tonight, I’ll scream.”

“I tagged along.” Al shrugged, turning back to James. 

Roy sat at the desk in front of Ed, turning his body around so that he faced his boyfriend, his chin rested on his folded arms at the end of Ed’s desk. Ed poked him on the nose with his plastic spoon, “You tired?”

“I’ll have you know I slept wonderfully last night… with the help of Melatonin. I just want this show to be over with.”

Ed blinked, “I thought you loved acting.”

“I do! It’s just… opening a show is always nerve-wracking. The first show can really set morale for the rest, so it’s gotta be good. And some actors, not me, of course-”

“Oh, of course.” Ed agreed wryly, receiving an exasperated look from the other.

“-some actors just get progressively worse and worse if they start out making mistakes. It’s a mental thing, ya know? Everyone wants the show to go smoothly, but nobody trusts the other actors to take it seriously and try their best!” Roy sighed.

Ed grinned a bit at his expense, taking the opportunity to run his fingers in Roy’s hair with the hand not holding his fork. Russel and Rose entered the room around this time, immediately making gagging noises at Ed’s show of affection. He put his fork down to flip the duo off before turning back to Roy, who looked like he was trying not to laugh in favor of being dramatic and sad. “You’ll fucking rock it, Roy. You know that. Besides, how can this thing fail if I’m involved? Like I told Al, I didn’t waste two weeks of my life to let my efforts crash and burn. Plus, you get to beat the shit out of Jean with a fake sword! You’re forgetting your blessings here, man.”

“That’s the spirit,” Roy laughed, “Can I snag a fry?”

Ed consented said snag, wondering aloud, “Did you not get your own food?”

Roy shook his head, now lifted from his arms, “I’d throw it all up.”

Ed put down his own fry, “You and Al need to stop it with the puke-talk!” He could hear Al laugh behind him as he exited the classroom with James for more food, Ed presumed.

Roy was going to respond, when Val poked her head into the room, obviously looking for him, “Roy! We’ve been looking all over for you, we need to run lines for scene six and find Al! Meet us onstage in five.” She flipped her hair back and strode back into the hall.

Ed noticed Roy instantly slump back down and couldn’t stop the angry, “Fucking bitch,” from leaving his mouth.

Roy shook his head, “Only on production week. Usually, Val’s sweet.” He moved to stand, looking confused when Ed did as well.

“No, wait a moment!” Ignoring his friends’ joking comments about PDA, Ed pulled Roy into a hug, murmuring, “Don’t let yourself get too worked up, yeah? I’ll see you after school.” 

He could practically feel Roy’s smile as the boyfriend in question gave Ed a reciprocating squeeze and stepped back, “See you then.”

He turned with a wave and left for the theater, and Ed sat back in his seat.

“You two are disgusting,” Russel commented. Ed just grinned at him.

\-----

As Ed predicted, Roy killed it onstage. Jean probably had a few new welts from that sword, but the scene looked great so he’d let it slide. As a matter of fact, the only person who majorly messed up was Val Smith (which had Ed mentally cheering, unabashed at his own malice. He just really fucking hated Val). Back in the changing rooms, Ed found his boyfriend hugging a few of the actresses in celebration of a well-done opening show, face red from exertion and makeup wipes. 

“What did I fucking tell you, Roy Mustang?” Ed asked, making Roy look up. The girls (Christie and Paninya, Ed noticed with a grimace) collectively grinned and pushed Roy out of their arms to Ed, who caught him before they both crashed to the ground. Roy’s laugh was contagious as he hugged Ed tightly, and the blonde found himself chuckling along with him. 

The quick (and rather violent, in Ed’s humble opinion) kiss was a surprise, and Ed was still reeling a bit as Roy raved, “Ed, it went so well! You did great!” above the ‘Oooooo’s sent their way by Al and Jean (who was, in fact, holding a small ice pack to his waist). 

Ed blushed a bit at the compliment, “Hey, I told you I wouldn’t let my wasted afternoons be for nothing. Besides, tonight was pretty fun, at least. Not saying the rehearsals were at all, though.” 

That seemed to be the right response, because Roy totally lit up, obviously glad that Ed had had some fun in the subject he adored. Then, however, a smirk blanketed his glee, “So you’d help with the next show too?”

“What? I NEVER said that! You must be diluted or something!” Ed fussed over Roy’s laugh. 

But as they left each other’s holds for Roy to finish changing back into his normal clothing Ed realized, deep down, that he would most likely end up helping his boyfriend if he asked. Because, as much as he hated theater, he kind of fucking loved Roy Mustang. 

~End~


	2. Day 2- "Colorless"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Photographers! Au!  
Ed is a teacher of the art and Roy is a journalist on assignment in a war zone. Ed's class can't seem to do a successful project, so Ed gives them a remedial project.  
Emotional fluff :)

Ed sighed in frustration, “Okay, which of you can tell me a single technical aspect of this photo?” He clicked to another picture on the Smartboard, seemingly the hundredth that period. His students’ last assignment had gone so poorly he felt that they all needed a class-long review before he could trust them with another. 

‘11th grade my ass.’ He internally seethed. At least his punishment was working- they all looked as miserable as he felt. 

His question was met with silence, and Ed wanted to be allowed to punch school property, “Tell me or you all fail the project.”

Half of the class readily shouted, “Rule of thirds!” Whilst others guessed very valiantly. 

“Good. This one?” He clicked and was met with several “umm”s, but no real answers. Even Chelsea Jones, his star pupil, looked glassy-eyed with boredom! And her project had actually been okay! Apparently, none of these kids were afraid of an F in Photography.

He decided to be generous with this one, as it was a trickier piece, “I see a good use of texture and natural framing with the branches and the model, yeah?”

The class agreed unenthusiastically.

“Listen, if you guys didn’t want this, you should have given half of a damn about your work! I know most of you just want the art credit, but you actually have to pass the class to receive the credit, you know. 

A few weak, “Yes Sir”s, and Ed forged ahead.

He clicked to the next piece, and almost didn’t hear the varied shouts of “diagonal lines” and “shallow depth of field”, as the photo in question caught Ed off guard. 

It was one of Roy’s photos.

An older one, back when he was journaling some strange commune in the Eastern region of Amestris. 

Ed must have been silent for longer than he’d have liked, as Ella Swindell in the back of the classroom tentatively asked, “Mr. Elric?”

He snapped his attention back to his class and coughed, “Yes, good answers. Another good element here is the choice of black and white. In this scenario, it really adds some good drama to the piece.” 

Black and White photography was a favorite of Roy’s. Not only because of its homage to printed papers but because of his ever-present flair for the dramatic. Roy left for a month on that job, and right after his return he’d proposed to Ed. At the time it had been their longest work-related time apart. How long had it been since he’d seen Roy? Five months? Or had half a year really already passed? Would he see-

Ed stopped his train of thought right there, violently jabbing his trackpad to move the PowerPoint along. To Ed’s dismay, it was another of his husband’s works taken of their late cat, kindly named Pissface. This particular shot had been on their cat’s supposed birthday, and she wore a little birthday hat and a confused expression. 

Roy had cried when Pissface died. She was old, but it had still seemed too sudden the morning they found her. Ed had cried watching Roy cry, and it was all just a big mess of tears. Al had even teared up audibly over the phone when Ed broke the sad news. It was an all-over tear-filled day. If Roy died, Ed didn’t know what…

‘Nope, stop it!’ Ed willed his mind away from death, ‘He hasn’t called because there is a fucking war falling out around him, idiot brain!’

A few students “aww”ed at Pissface’s cuteness, and others scanned the photo quickly for an answer to their teacher’s impending question. Ed decided to throw them a curveball, “Improve this photo for me. Tell me where it falls short.” 

One kid, Ed thought Jason Matthews, but he wasn’t paying much attention, suggested, “Maybe make the depth of field shallower so that the cat was more in focus?”

Ed hummed in thought and let a few more students ramble out some stunted ideas. He clicked to the final slide as the classroom door behind him opened. Assuming this to be Mordecai Fitzgerald, who had been out of class finishing a test, as per the teacher’s email, Ed didn’t bother with a glance.

He droned, “take a seat and don’t be a nuisance.” And to all, he said, “Well, give me some ways to improve this one!”

They continued, embarrassed silence would have sent Ed up a wall, had a noticeably deep, very Roy voice not interjected, “You could make it black and white. It would take away from the busy background and add a nice bit of drama to the subject. 

He whipped his head around to meet the merrily amused gaze of his husband. As per Ed’s command upon entering the classroom, Roy had taken a seat in a further back desk. Several students looked between him and their shocked teacher confusedly. 

Ed smiled brightly. “What did I say about being a nuisance, you ass!” His reprimand meant little, as he had already stood and hastened to his husband’s side. He only just remembered not to pounce him in front of the dozen seventeen-year-olds in the room, so he settled on a tight embrace and a regrettably chaste kiss. The class murmured, and a few let out joking “oooooo”s.

Ed, still with Roy’s arm around his middle, turned to his class to snap, “Shut it!” After a short admonishing look from his husband, Ed sighed, “Class, this is Roy, a photojournalist. He’s been out of the country for a while doing work journaling the war effort up North.” 

Eric Headley, the son-of-a-bitch, called out, “D’ya kiss a lot of photojournalists, Mr. Elric?”

“Only the one I’m married to, Eric. Now, everyone, go fix your pathetic excuses of projects until the bell rings. And if I see a phone, we all get to stay in class for fifteen extra minutes after the bell, got it?”

The students, now far more interested in their teacher and his husband than their work, reluctantly slouched to their respective computers to work the class away, keeping a curious eye on the two men now talking quietly together behind Mr. Elric’s desk, wide smiles on both of their faces. If Ed discreetly rubbed away some water building in his eye, nobody commented. 

\---------

Back at home, after their kisses had turned far less chaste and after Roy had barely had the time to set his luggage down properly before Ed practically attacked him, they lay in their bed together, Ed’s head on Roy’s chest and Roy’s laptop on his stomach, clicking through many photographs detailing his journeys with the war effort.

“NatGeo’s gonna go fucking ballistic over that one.” Ed commented on the current picture on display of a soldier playing some kind of ball game with some civilian children. 

Roy laughed, the sound a deep rumble to Ed, pressed against the other man as he was, “Just you wait till I get to the shoot of these kind, elderly weaving-women. It’s got dusty lighting and everything.”

Ed hummed, “Perfect. I’ll have to show ‘em to my class the next time I need to re-teach them shit.”

“I’m honored my work’ll be put to such good use. Did they take well to my others?”

Ed leaned his head back to catch Roy’s amused gaze, “I knew you added those! Last time I share a PowerPoint with you.”

The photojournalist grinned, “I wanted to give them something other than Ansel Adams to critique.”

“Hey, I had more than just Ansel on there! I wouldn’t want to make it too easy for them.” 

Roy smiled and lifted his hand from the trackpad of the laptop to stroke Ed’s loose hair, “Of course not.”

Before Ed could pick up Roy’s job of clicking through the photos, the hand left his hair and closed the laptop. The blonde whines as Roy turned away to set the computer over the side of the bed, “I wanted to see the weaving women!”

Roy turned back, and Ed latched back onto his chest to hear the rumble of his light laughter her again, “We have all the time in the world tomorrow to look at the rest. Let’s get some sleep, love.” 

Ed grumbled about the pet name but settled into Roy’s side all the same, not about to let a half year’s worth of waiting go to waste. 

They slept, and if Ed gripped his husband a little tighter in his sleep, well, Roy definitely wasn’t complaining. 

~End~


	3. Day 4- Fanstay Au [Orig. for Day 3!!]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hogwarts! Yule Ball! AU
> 
> Angsty Slytherin! Ed
> 
> Triwizard CHampion! Roy
> 
> Dances and fluffff!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops so I was late with day 3 >x<  
I may make it up on day 7, but we'll see   
Please comment if you enjoy, and leave kudos, thanks!!!!

Roy had never seen the Great Hall so beautifully decorated; it was hard to tell where the school hall ended, and wintry palace began- the decorations were so wonderfully chosen! As he spun around with his dance partner, his long-time best friend Riza, the two other Triwizard Champions and their dates twirling similarly, Roy both admired the wonderful mix of glamour and dance and wished he wasn’t dancing at the moment. 

At least, he wished he was dancing with a different blonde, although Riza was definitely a close second choice. In fact, if he weren’t required to take the first dance as a Champion, Roy probably would have shirked it off to go find Ed the moment he realized that his boyfriend’s distinctive hair was nowhere to be seen in the crowd.

Over the snickers and awes of the crowd, supposedly assuming that Riza and Roy were something more than childhood friends, the blonde woman must have heard Roy’s faint sigh, for she sighed as well and discreetly stomped on his foot as they changed direction, “Can you pretend for five seconds that you actually want to dance with me? I know it means nothing to you, but I tortured myself with wearing this monstrosity just because we’re the center of attention.”

Despite her disdain towards it, Riza looked quite stunning in her pale blue dressing gown, and Roy had just enough self-preservation to point it out before responding quietly, “It’s not dancing with you that upsets me and you know it.” 

He knew that, even though he was half-assing it at best, they were still by far the best dancers out there, as years of ballroom dancing classes together would not be proven futile by their muggle parents. 

Roy remembered the both of them receiving their Hogwarts letters and thinking it a big joke until two owls stampeded them in the park, and they looked at each other with such excitement that their parents knew their lives would never be quite normal again. His muggle mother had been at the school until recently, given a brief let-in to watch her only son compete in the dangerous Triwizard Tournament. Having never seen her son use magic before, it was a very… interesting time for her to watch him wave a stick at a whole-ass dragon and manage to stupefy it to unconsciousness (he chose to ignore his currently sprained and splinted wrist, and the several bandages that scratched against his shoulder and chest). 

Back in the present, Riza rolled her eyes, “After this dance, you can go find him, I’m not stopping you. I think Jean’s called dibbs on my next dance, anyways.

Roy smiled at the girl gratefully, and picked up the dance, noticing they were worryingly close falling out of step with the tempo of the spritely violins. After a few more laps around the dancefloor, the music finally died down to silence, and the audience clapped lightly, more eager to join in than pay mind to the current dancers. 

Bidding Riza good luck with Jean, Roy quickly wove his way through the crowd, keeping an eye out for Ed. He found, instead, Al dragging a less-than-willing Winry out to the floor. The younger boy stopped when he saw Roy, and Winry sighed in relief.

“Roy, you and Riza danced so well!” He chirped. 

“Thanks, Al. Hey, do you know where your brother is hiding? I haven’t seen him around.” Roy asked.

Al giggled, “Check around the food. He’s probably afraid you’ll ask him to dance.”

“Well then, he’s got a right to be afraid. Have fun out there.” He turned from the betrayed look Winry cast him and started for the tables piled high with food. Ed’s brother and closest friend (as well as Riza and Maes, of course) were practically the only ones who knew of his and Ed’s relationship. Roy had no problem with making them public, but Ed had expressed his concerns enough for the other to hold off from straight-up snogging him in the halls. The blonde, for all his vivaciousness, was terribly shy about showing public affections, and didn’t know how his fellow housemates would take his dating a boy- a Gryffindor boy at that!

Ed was nowhere to be found around the food, and Roy furrowed his brow in contemplation. He did see Lust, a fellow Slytherin classmate of Ed’s, and decided to test his luck. 

“Lust!” He called, and the aforementioned looked at him, bored. 

“Mustang, what do you want?”

“Have you seen Elric anywhere?”

“The sweet one or the obnoxious one?” She quirked an eyebrow.

“The one you share a house with.” Roy gave in a dead-pan, and Lust’s unamused eye-roll did little to help him believe she would actually tell him. 

“Well if you need to know, Envy said that he saw Ed on the staircase to the left of the Hall entrance reading. 

Roy nodded, “Thanks, I guess.” Lust shrugged and walked away. 

Roy, thinking ahead, piled two plates with pastries and made his way out of the hall and to the left. He quickly found his boyfriend sitting on the second step, a book rested lightly between his bent knees. He looked up when Roy sat beside him, their legs bumping.

Roy handed over Ed’s plate, which he took gratefully, “What’re you doing out here? Already abandoned poor Riza to fend with Havoc on the dancefloor?”

The Gryffindor responded as Ed took a large bite of a particularly flaky little pastry the Beauxbatons cooks had prepared, “Riza quit on me. Said I was ‘too distracted looking for you’ to dance right.”

Ed shrugged, “You know I don’t like dances, shoulda guessed I wouldn’t be in the ballroom.”

Roy smiled lopsidedly, “Not even to watch me dance? I looked amazing out there; Al said so!”

Ed snorted, “First of all, watch your ego. Second, Al would tell the worst dancer out there they were great. Dances are just dumb, is all. Shouldn’t just having the stupid tournament be enough celebration of inter-school comradery or whatever shit they’re promoting?”

“I think it’s sweet.” Roy commented, not very forcefully. They’d had this same conversation hundreds of times, it seemed, “Either way, if you didn’t want to be here so bad, why not just go up to your common room? I’m sure even the dungeons are more comfortable than these stairs.”

“The Slytherin common rooms aren’t just dungeons, I’ll have you know!” Ed retorted, flicking a pastry he was holding slightly at Roy for emphasis, “They’re actually very nice, it sucks you don’t get to see ‘em. I’m here because I didn’t get to see you much after the challenge ‘cuz of all the press commotion and shit.” Ed frowned slightly. 

The dragon challenge had been the day before, the three schools deciding that the dance and challenge should follow each other closely to ‘lighten the mood’ after such a frightening task.  
True to Ed’s words, Roy had been swept away by several Prophet reporters following his close win (after his more serious wounds were treated first, of course). He’d been tired, bloody, and sore all over, so by the time they were done pestering him, Roy had barely the energy to fend off his mother’s crushing hugs and frantic words. He had walked her back to the portkey once she was satisfied that he was safe until the next challenge, and from there went straight to his dormitory to sleep, Riza breaking the sea of students for him. The next morning, he had been wholly unamused to find his miserable face headlining the reports of the tournament. 

He bit into his food, keeping a smile on his face in spite of Ed’s fouled expression, “Well, you can see me all you want right now.”

Contrary to Roy’s intentions, Ed’s face darkened further, “Until the next challenge.”

“Ed, What’s really the matter?” His proffered hand stung when Ed swatted it away, twisting in such a way to disturb several sore spots. 

The Slytherin caught the other’s wince, “THIS is the matter, Roy! Look at you, it’s like you’ve been through a goddamn warzone or something! They carted you off the arena; I had to sit through two other dragon-themed ass-whoopings before I even knew you weren’t dead. Your mom was in hysterics!”

Roy sighed, “Believe me, I know. I got her earful yesterday.”

“At least she got to go down and see you immediately. I’ve barely seen you since Charms this afternoon, and that was the first time today!”

“So, you’ve been worried this whole time?”

Ed looked bewildered, “Of course I’ve been worried this whole time! I fucking lo… li… uh, care about you, you complete asshole!”

Roy, setting his plate aside, took Ed’s plate quickly and ensconced the other boy in a tight hug, feeling the tension in the blonde’s body coiled up in his shoulders. He relaxed a little in the Gryffindor’s hold, huffing out a frustrated breath. When Roy felt a pair of hands gently wrap around his waist, he said, “I’m sorry I made you worry. If it’s any consolation, I tried to find you after the challenge and at our meals today. I was too exhausted to really think yesterday, but when I looked today I didn’t see you anywhere.”

He could feel Ed rolling his eyes in his shoulder, and a second later he heard a muffled, “Had extra credit work in a few classes.”

He hummed in response, and they stayed in their embrace for a while. Roy could feel Ed relax the longer he sat against the other, as if the constant assurance that Roy was there made his anxiety lessen. This said, it surprised Roy that Ed was the first to break the hug, standing up at the bottom step with a hand extended. 

At the Gryffindor’s confused look, Ed blushed, “Well, affection is sort of your thing, so I guess it wouldn’t hurt me to dance, at least to make any lovesick Hufflepuff girls aware that you’re unavailable.” Roy sat, astounded. As far as he knew, Ed kind of hated public affection like this. Ed’s blush intensified, probably because he knew vaguely what Roy was thinking, “I- I don’t love this, but watching the challenge made me realize that I didn’t want to waste my time across the room from you, watching other people try and get in your pants when I could just fucking suck it up and let myself have this, ya know? Shit, I’m embarrassing myself, just take my hand already, yeah?”

Roy grinned broadly, following Ed’s orders. He led the way into the dance hall, noticing Ed stiffen when they were at the doors and Roy made no move to release his hand. 

“Ed, you don’t have to force yourself to do this if you’re uncomfortable.”

The blonde shook his head, “No, Roy, I want this. I want people to know we’re a- a couple. This is a pretty good way to do that, right?”

His smile widened, “It’s a great way!”

The brightness of Roy’s smile caused Ed to smile as well, and they entered the hall to the vibrant sounds of an ending orchestral piece. They hurried to the floor before the next one started, and Roy had enough time to flash a wink at a confused but excited Al and Winry before the next dance began. 

With Roy leading, there wasn’t a chance they would mess up, and Ed seemed to trust their steps. Of course, he was flustered at first, glancing around at the other students too much (and sending dirty looks at Winry’s smirk) and continually tripped up, but Roy got the other’s attention back to him as the dance picked up with a gentle squeeze of the shoulder. Roy could feel eyes on them and heard quite a few girlish voices chirp their names, but he kept them out of his mind. He didn’t care a bit about their judgment.

Once Ed was comfortable enough with the movement, he and Roy began chatting amid their dance, mostly about the other dancers. 

“You know…” Ed mumbled, his sweet blush never having left his face, “You and Riza did dance very well together.”

Roy laughed, “So you did see us! I didn’t see you in the crowd!”

Ed mock-glared, “Well it’s not because of my height, I know what you’re thinking Roy Mustang!” He laughed a bit, “You probably dance better with her than with me.”

“Well, I like dancing with you better.” Roy murmured, leaning down to speak directly in Ed’s ear.

“Oh, shush.” Ed huffed, embarrassed. The song slowed to an end, and Ed pulled them off the floor with a small smile, “C’ mon, we left our food on the stairs. I’d hate to waste it.” His pull wasn’t at all in the direction of the stairs, but to a table huddled away from the crowd, absolutely heaped with decorations and food. They could get some good privacy behind that heap…

Roy chuckled, Ed smirked, and they hurried to the table, not seeing the knowing looks of their friends and swelling gossip circles of those newly exposed to, possibly, the most unexpected coupling at Hogwarts. 

~End~


	4. Day 5- Historical AU [PART 1]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I didn't finish this guy in time, so, have the first part of my 1920's speakeasy!Au. I'm excited to finish it tomorrow (well, really later today lol)

.....

"So, what's your spring special?"

Roy turned sharply at the words, watching his hostess, Sheska confusedly stammer an apology as, "We don't have a spring special, sir."

Roy sighed and took it upon himself as the owner and manager of the restaurant to intervene, striding towards the skeevy-looking guy currently harassing the poor girl. "We have no spring special, but I hear the florist next door has a lovely spring combination of petunias." The man looked confused, before quickly realizing his mistake, and slunk away. As the door closed, Roy muttered a quick, "Good riddance!"

"Mr. Mustang? What was he on about?" Sheska asked.

Roy shook his head, "Just some loon; don't pay him any mind. And like I've said, just Roy is fine. You're doing a good job out here, keep it up!" With a pat on the back and the girl's stuttered "Yes sir!", Roy left the dining room and it's many frivolously rich, entitled patrons draped in all the finest fashions of the season, in favor of the more casual ambiance in the kitchen.

As always, Maes (Roy's chef and best friend) had one of his upbeat jazz records playing in the corner as he, Riza, and Jean efficiently cooked their patrons' dinners to perfection. Roy sighed, leaning against the wait-station-table. Hughes looked over at him quickly whilst fancifully sautéing a plethora of vegetables in a large pan, "Spring Special again?"

"I am seriously going to murder the next bum who enters this building and dares to utter the word spring. It's autumn! That flower shop's got some shady-ass shit going on in it, I'm convinced."

Riza shrugged, wiping her hands on her men's slacks Roy insisted she wear to work to protect from kitchen burns, "I've met Alphonse, the owner. He's a really sweet guy, and his wife's a gem. Unless they're great actors, I doubt it's anything too malicious." She picked up a large knife and began to cut up some meat awaiting seasoning by Havoc.

"But it does hurt us, having all these scummy characters come in with obvious illegal intent." Jean pointed out.

Roy nodded in agreement. "I'll check it out for myself tomorrow."

The redhead plated his wares, sent them out with the young waitress Paninya, and took quick leave out the back for a smoke, trusting Riza to take over seasoning. Roy went with for a brief breath of fresh air. They stood at the back wall, a streetlight around the corner and Havoc's lighter the only light sources. The distant murmur of their clients, Hughes's muffled jazz, and the clangs of kitchen life were the only sounds prominent in this little corner of the block. Roy basked in the relative quiet. Apparently, Roy was too quiet, for Havoc asked, "What's buggin' you, Chief?"

Roy laughed dryly, "Just thinking."

Jean looked sideways at him, "What about?"

"It's ironic, you know? We left the military to not be serving the whims of bossy, elitist assholes, yet here we are."

Jean laughed, "That's life for ya! At least we're alive, eh? Don't have to kill anyone in fine dining."

"Yeah, might want to sometimes, though." Roy smirked, "It just seems s-"

Roy's words stopped short at a crash in the alley a few meters away. Outside the flower shop's backdoor a blonde carrying an unconscious man over his shoulder stood, breathing heavily and swearing under his breath at the poor guy atop him. He dropped his "load" rather unceremoniously on a full trash bag, not noticing the other two men in the small space staring at the scene, open-mouthed. Havoc had even let his cigarette fall from his lips to the dirty pavement at his feet.

The man was about to turn round to re-enter the back of the shop, supposedly intending to just leave his charge in the garbage, when he caught sight of the small glow of the cigarette, and realized that he wasn't quite as alone as he'd expected to be. Roy and Havoc continued to stare at the other in shocked silence, whilst he froze up and stammered incoherently, eyes locked with Roy's.

"D-don't worry about him, he'll be fine in the morning." He got out, and Roy cocked an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with him?"

"It's none of your business, is it? Shove off." The blonde made a quick retreat into the flower shop. Havoc and Roy turned to look at each other, and slowly backed away into the security of the restaurant. The door closed behind them, Havoc asked what was on both of their minds, "What the fuck is going on in that flower shop?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Part 2 coming out tomorrow!]


	5. Day 5- Historical AU [PART 2]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pt. 2 of the Speakeasy!Au! Roy snoops and finds out who the strange blonde from the night before really is!

The shop itself was rather unassuming, maybe even quite charming in the late morning light. A pleasant little bell chimed as Roy pushed open the door, hit with the scent of flowers and the sounds of scratchy violin music from a phonograph in the corner. The flowers inside bloomed in every color Roy could imagine, a much-preferred contrast to the bleak, overcast autumn outside.

A young man with rusty blonde hair and an apron popped out from behind a large display table, holding a little watering can, "Good Morning, sir! How can I help you today?"

"Hello, are you the owner?" He asked, "I'm Roy, I own the restaurant next door."

A sweet smile lit of the young man's face, "Yes! I'm Al Elric, it's nice to meet you! My wife and I've wanted to go try your food out for a while now."

Looking at this pleasant young face, Roy felt confused. He seemed so unseemly and nice, what was the whole 'throwing-men-in-the-alley' business he and Jean had witnessed last night? Certainly, that business couldn't be related to this sweet little arrangement over here! The older man smiled politely, "Well, we would certainly love to have you."

"So, Roy, do you need an arrangement or anything? I'll be glad to help you choose some flowers if you want."

Roy shook his head, "Not today, unfortunately. I actually wanted to come to check on you guys; my cook and I saw some strange business in the alley behind our places last night. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

Al's smile dropped to a concerned frown, "What happened?"

"Well, we were out back for some fresh air, and a man appeared from a door and dropped another guy, unconscious, into your garbage pile. Seemed pretty sketchy."

Roy watched carefully as Al's face visibly paled, and he put his watering pail down with a little too much force on the display table, "Oh dear, is that so? I didn't see anyone out there this morning, I hope he's alright! Hold on, I'll call over my brother. He deals with our later shifts." His words came out quickly and more high-pitched than usual. He turned to a corner of the room obscured by plants, shouting, "Edward! Come over here a minute!" Roy heard a loud groan of protest, followed by the snapping of a closed book and the dramatic stomping of feet. Al rolled his eyes.

"What? I was getting to the good part of my b- Oh fuck!" Much to Roy's surprise, the blonde from the night before turned the corner, a look of disdain on his face when he recognized who his brother currently attended.

Al's hand immediately went to his forehead, "Very discreet, Brother.

Edward ignored the other blonde, pointing at Roy, "What the hell do you need from us? I told you last night, it's none of your damn business!"

"None of my business?! That man-"

"Hey!" Al piped, pushing both men into the back room quickly, "The shop is kind of open." This new room was darker and full of flowers not-yet-bloomed. Ed sat in the only available chair as Al left to attend to a different customer. Roy leaned against a table gingerly.

"… As I was saying, that man was injured! Besides, ever since this shop opened, strange characters have been coming into my restaurant, harassing my staff, and deterring potential customers! It is very much my business if you're being shady as fuck and hurting my business!"

Edward sighed, dragging a hand down his face, "Okay, buddy, listen. That guy last night was bad news. Our night crowd is usually fairly respectable."

"Your 'night crowd'? In a flower shop?!" Roy was bewildered, "What the hell are you doing selling plants past your closing hours?"

The blonde blinked, "Wha- no. You…. You really haven't… okay." He huffed out a sigh, "I really have no reason to trust you, but since you haven't gone to the cops yet about the guy I guess you're okay. Follow me."

"Wait, wait, what the hell are you on about? Do the cops need to be involved?" This conversation was really going nowhere, Roy realized. He didn't even really know what they were talking about now.

"No, not really. Not in a sane society, at least. Just… follow me, you'll understand." Ed motioned for Roy to follow, and they headed back into another, smaller room. It was obviously meant to be a storage closet; the space was so small. Carefully, Edward felt along the wall until he managed to take hold of a divot in the paneled wood walls. Roy gasped as the wall creaked to the side, and a dusty, low-lit staircase led down five steps to yet another door, this one locked tight. Luckily, Edward had the key in his pocket around a chain, and the door opened into what Roy quickly realized was a rickety-looking bar. It reeked of alcohol, a smell Roy hadn't been acquainted with since his war years. Edward turned to face Roy, gesturing broadly to the space around them with an eyebrow quirked.

"A speakeasy," Roy stated.

"Yes, Einstein, a speakeasy."

Roy took a deep breath, not ready for this turn of events so early in the day, "You're really damn luck I give exactly zero shits about the whole Prohibition ordeal, or I'd have police on you in an instant. Why would you trust a stranger with a secret like this? I work in fine dining! The exact people you don't want to know about this place frequent my establishment."

He looked relieved, "Well, I'll know to be careful from now on."

"From now on? Your business is inherently illegal, you should have been careful from the get-go!"

Edward rolled his eyes, "Oh come off it, you sound like Al. I'm careful as fuck! Haven't been caught yet, have I?"

"You almost were last night by me and Jean, or do you not remember loudly disposing of an unconscious man in a public area?"

"Well, I made a mistake, sue me! You know, this whole nagging thing is really not doing you any favors." Edward turned to go behind the bar, Roy quick to take a seat at one of the tall, wooden barstools.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Edward shrugged, pouring himself a clear liquid that Roy could reasonably guess wasn't water, "Just what it's supposed to mean. Want some?"

The chef shook his head, "Not till it's legal, thanks."

Edward laughed, "That's cute. You're cute, you know that?"

"Excuse me?" This conversation kept making the weirdest turns. Hadn't they started out arguing about some guy in an alley?

A wide grin, "I said you're cute. In a grumpy, prudish way, but still cute."

Roy flushed a bit, to his own mortification, "I will have you know I am neither grumpy, prudish, or cute!" He stood up, receiving a slight frown from the blonde, "I have to go help set up for lunch at the restaurant. Your secret's safe with me, so long as you keep it out of my business. I'll see you later, Edward."

"Just Ed's fine, and I do hope I'll see you again soon. Maybe another guy'll get violently drunk and I'll have to dispose of him."

Roy quirked a brow, "Or you could just come over like a normal human."

Ed's smile brightened, "I'll be sure to!"

Having waved goodbye to Al and wishing his day the best, Roy took a quick walk around the block before re-entering the restaurant. He didn't want to get involved with some illegal bar ordeal, but he was strangely intrigued by Ed. He was spunky, if not a bit reckless, and if Roy had to admit it, he was quite attractive in his own way (although he'd stay indignant over the 'cute comment!).

Whatever was to come, Roy was certain Ed would be there, and that it would be nothing if not entirely interesting.

~End~


	6. Day 6- "Wait for Me"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo actually a prompt for day 5 but lets ignore the hehehehe......
> 
> Hughes Lives! AU
> 
> Ed await's roy's return from war, and he comes back with two little surprises

A long time ago, Trisha Elric had told her sons that, “Good will come to those who wait,”. It was a common phrase, and she had meant this to mean more on the lines of “wait your turn” and “don’t skip in line” and that sort of thing.

Ed mused on his mother’s advice. He noted wryly that waiting hadn’t done her much good at all- it probably did her a whole world of bad, in fact. He never understood why she waited so dutifully. Never, that is, until now. As he looked upon his garden that Friday evening, the alchemist realized that he, unexpectedly, took after his mother in this way. 

\----~----

Ed awoke on Saturday two hours after he fell asleep; his alarm for 6:00 had yet to ring. Even in his sleep Ed had been restless, as the blankets were twisted at the bottom of the bed, and his pillow lay a few feet from his dresser across the room. In an attempt to calm his nerves, Ed took a long shower and, unable to find a second towel, called Winry with his hair dripping all over the office rug. 

As he waited for his sister-in-law to answer, Ed looked out upon the back yard in the office window, dewy and colorful in the early spring sunrise. Maybe he’d pick a few of the flowers to spruce up the house a little bit- was that too cheesy?

Winry’s tired voice greeted him at last, “Hello?”

“Heya Win.” Ed replied, followed by what he guessed to be a sigh.

“Edward, the sun is barely up! What could you possibly need from me? If it’s an emergency I’m sure there are people who live closer to you to call.”

He chuckled a little guiltily, “Sorry Win, ‘M just trying to kill some time until 10:00. I’m too jittery to get anything productive done.”

Winry gasped, “Oh, is today the day?”

Ed nodded, knowing she couldn’t see, “It’s the day.”

\--~--

The past two years had been a long string of going to work at the lab or in the office with Team Mustang, reading the paper, and anxiously awaiting the rare phone call from Al or Roy. To both of their credit, they called whenever possible, but Al was very busy with his teaching job and helping Winry with their young daughter, and Roy…  
Roy was never around phones much, Ed guessed. 

The blonde currently slouched in his office chair, doodling on a spare sheet of paper in lieu of alphabetizing the sources for his latest compilation of research. Riza looked at him reproachfully from her own desk across the room until he sighed and got back to work, balling up the spare paper and throwing it into the bin. Even then, it took him a minute to focus enough to actually comprehend the words he was trying to sort. 

‘Abrams, Addison, Anderson, Amaryllis… wait no, m before n… shit this is dull, I need to get out of here.’ He pushed himself up and muttered about an early lunch break before he strode out of the large room. He looked disdainfully at the coffee machine, before deciding a quick stop by a café would do him better than the bitter crap in the office.   
He hadn’t been sleeping well, even worse than he usually tended to, and it was only partially because of the workload regarding his research. 

Outside, the air smelt of rain, and Ed regretted not taking an umbrella or something with him when he left (Riza would give him an earful if he came back dripping all over the freshly polished floors). The old coffee shop stood in a quaint corner, rather out of place in the midst of military office buildings, yet wholly welcomed by the lot. Ed knew the barista, Louise, well, and when he walked in she smiled, “Morning, Major! Usual?”

“Please.” Ed sighed, giving her a wad of cash, insisting she keep the change because he was too lazy to try and count it out, and sitting at a small two-person table towards the back of the building. He hadn’t brought any work with him, so while he waited, the alchemist kind of dazed out, just letting the ambiance of the little shop clam his nerves a bit. 

A familiar female voice interrupted his tranquil state, “Edward?” He looked up in surprise, coming face-to-face with Rose’s friendly smile. He moved to stand and greet the young woman, but she motioned for him to remain seated, and took the chair across from him. 

“Rose, what brings you to Central?” Ed asked curiously.

“Winry asked me to come drop off some parts with clients she has over here. And to check up on you, of course.” The Leorian responded, “Speaking of which, Edward, you look absolutely tragic!”

Ed was about to retort, but Louise came to the table with his usual coffee and sandwich. He thanked her, and took a large bite of his food before continuing where he was interrupted, “I do not look tragic, Rose, you’re being dramatic.”

“Did you sleep at all last night?”

“Uhh…”

Ed knew Rose wasn’t nagging just to be annoying, as the evident worry in her eyes was practically palpable. He only assumed everyone else back in Resembool would have the same expression if they saw him like this. This thought sent an arrow of guilt into his stomach, but he suppressed it quickly, changing the topic of their conversation, “Well, they say the war’s dying down a bit in the east. Some Ishvallan insurgent groups and all of the Southeastern front are still neck-in-neck, but that’s a good sign, right?”

Rose gave him a very unimpressed look, knowing full well what he was doing. She took to bait, however, to appease him, “Yeah, I heard the Fürher’s been trying to start peace negotiations, futile as it may seem. Have they begun sending soldiers home yet?”

Ed nodded with a small frown, “Hawkeye said they’re releasing some who have families and stuff to tend to at home: pregnant wives, senile grandparents, and the like. Just means the non-priority soldiers’ll have to stay out longer.”

Rose frowned as well, “Not necessarily. If there’s less conflict, then they don’t need as much workforce out there, you know?”

“I guess.” He sighed. 

Rose rolled her eyes, “I know what this is about, Edward. He’ll be back soon.”

“What, did he tell you? ‘Cuz the certainly didn’t tell me.”

Rose looked cross, “He’s fighting! Not getting any response is better than a letter saying he’s dead! Do you really think digging a pity hole is going to help the situation?” 

Ed looked at her angrily, then his expression dropped as he saw then emotion on her own face. He remembered the Rose of eight years previous, broken in the midst of a war, yet not fallen prey to self-pity. Sure, she had been manipulated by Dante, but everything she did was for a good greater than herself. Settling in Resembool, even, was for her son to be happy, and she took her present with such grace it was ridiculous. 

Ed looked to his plate and quietly admitted, “It’s just… stressful, not knowing. God, I wish I knew how he’s doing, Rose.”

She smiled, “I know, it’s the worst. But you know what?”

“What?” Ed asked around another bite of this lunch.

“When you do find out, it’ll be worth the wait.” She stood up, “I’ve got to deliver these parts, but I’ll swing by your place tonight. We can make some dinner or something, okay?”

Ed smiled at her, “That sounds great. I’ll see ya then.”

“See ya!” She turned out the door. Ed sat at the table, alone again. Now, however, the thought of returning to his list of names wasn’t so daunting, especially with the promise of Rose’s divine cooking in his future. He took his time finishing the sandwich, and took his to-go cup of coffee back to the office with him. 

Riza was the first to acknowledge Ed as he walked in, placing his cup on his desk and making as if to sit down. She held a little orange envelope out to Ed from her desk, and Ed quickly took the telegram. Seeing Riza’s small smile, he had an inkling who it could be from. 

“Excuse me.” He muttered, taking the envelope into the long-closed room to his right, Roy’s private office. He pushed down the sadness at the empty desk and lack of paper heaps set out to be avoided, sitting hard on one of the large office chairs, hands shaking a bit as he opened up the folded paper. A smaller slip of paper came out, and Ed read the words greedily.

‘Coming home Oct 16, 10:00. Central West Station.  
I have a surprise. Love you more than I can say.   
-Roy’

\--~--

After Winry hung up, stating that Trisha had awoken and needed ‘Mama time’, Ed was at a loss for what to do. He trudged back to the bedroom and changed into his day clothes (no point in pretending he may go back to nap). He threw his old clothes into the laundry basket and decided, on a whim, to change out the bed sheets and throw the old ones in with his dirty clothes. That started, Ed began obsessively cleaning the house- once the laundry was piled up, a table looked dusty, then the oven needed a wipe down, and he had to cook his own breakfast so there would be dishes, and so on, until before he knew it, the clock struck 7:00 and the phone rang.

Ed threw down the dish rag, seemingly broken from his mindless work trance, and retreated back to the office to answer it. This time, Gracia’s voice greeted him.

“Edward? How’re you doing?”

Ed sighed, but it came out as more of an exasperated laugh, “Just barely keeping it together, I guess! Trying to find something to do until I can go down to the station.”

Gracia laughed as well, sounding just as tired as he felt, “I understand the feeling. Elicia and I’ve been up for hours!”

“Have you talked to Maes?” He hoped he didn’t sound too desperate, but that hope was fairly fleeting. 

“Not for about two weeks, but I haven’t heard from anyone else about him so that’s a plus, yeah?” 

Ed didn’t want to tell Gracia that to him it absolutely wasn’t a plus, so he just hummed in agreement, “Roy hasn’t called or anything since the telegram. I guess we’ll see what that means today.”

“have you thought about what that surprise could be?”

“Yeah, probably too much.” Ed laughed a bit, “It’s making me even more anxious, somehow.”

Gracia laughed lightly, “Hey, so I called to ask if you wanted me to bring some lunch to the station for you. I’m already bringing some for Elicia so it’s not a big deal.”

“No thanks, I can’t eat right now.” Ed politely refused. Gracia seemed to understand, for she didn’t push the matter. 

They talked lightly until Gracia hung up (something about an oven or something like that). The blonde stood in the study, anxious and with nothing to do for the next three hours. 

\--~--

Ed watched the tracks obsessively. He knew he’d definitely know when the train came to view, but he’d grown so anxious and excited he couldn’t do much more than sit and stare. Gracia sat beside him, reading the paper with Elicia working through a novel beside her. She seemed very composed and must make Ed look like an absolute wreck in comparison. Her day dress looked very clean and neat, whereas Ed had barely the patience to bother fully buttoning his own shirt. 

Elicia noticed the train first, dropping her book and standing quickly, “Mom, Ed, I heard a whistle!” The eleven-year-old bounced excitedly as the train slowly screeched into the station. Ed felt his nerves burn deep in his abdomen, and he almost felt sick as he stood with the woman and girl, watching the train cars take far too long to slow down. Inside the train, every window was filled with blue-capped soldiers, their faces practically pressed to the glass, much like small children, in search of their loved ones. Several groups in front of Ed jumped and waved, their husbands or wives or whatever identified out of the many faces in the vehicle. 

Finally, the train stopped, and the soldiers were let off one-by-one, each saluting their superiors at the doors before they were set free to find their families. Ed anxiously stood about the growing crowd of soldiers. 

Hughes was the first out of the two, happily saluting his superior and running straight to Gracia, having seen her already from inside the train. He managed to lift and spin both Gracia and Elicia at one time, an all-around bubble of joy. Seeing Ed, he shot the blonde a broad, knowing smile. After three more men, Ed finally, finally, spotted Roy. He boarded off the train, saluted, and scanned the crowd hopefully. 

His eyes found Ed the moment the blonde’s feet began to move and was thusly prepared for Ed’s weight as he ran full-force into Roy’s arms. They didn’t talk for a short time, too busy trying to get each other as close as possible, as if to make up for the lost time. Then, Ed leaned back to look over the other, checking for injury. 

Roy laughed, and it sounded pretty close to perfect, “I’m not hurt, Ed.”

Ed laughed too, finding his emotions burst out with his smile, “I had to make sure, you haven’t really contacted me aside from a single telegram in-“

He fell quiet, as suddenly Roy’s mouth was in the way and he was too busy kissing him back to continue his protest. “I’m sorry,” he murmured as they parted.

Ed sighed for dramatic effect, “I think I can excuse it this one time. Besides, I believe there was a surprise I was promised?”

Roy’s smile brightened, if that was possible, and he quickly looked to the superior officer at the door and back to Ed, “Of course! They should be off of the train soon; had to have a double check.”

“They?” Ed repeated, confused. Roy just smiled and took Ed’s hand, leading them to the door of the train. Looking back, Ed could spot Maes with a devilishly gleeful look, Elicia jumping around excitedly, and Gracia looking at he and Roy with a hand over her mouth. “Roy, what’s going on?” Ed asked.

They reached the doors as the superior officer helped out the last of the ensemble, two very shaken looking Ishvallan children, a boy and a girl. If Ed had to chance a guess, he’d peg them at around two or three years old. They looked around, helplessly confused, and Ed realized with a sinking feeling in his gut that their parents weren’t with them. They didn’t have anyone to meet at this station. Except…

They noticed Roy, and walked quickly in a beeline to him. As they reached the couple, the children seemed to realize that Roy had a companion and slowed shyly. The older man chuckled and squatted down to be eye-level with the two, “Molly, Gregory, this is Ed. He’s my husband.” He looked up at Ed, motioning for Ed to join him on the ground. He did, and the children seemed to look at him curiously. Roy continued, “Ed, this is Molly, and this is Gregory. Their parents asked me to… to take good care of them.” The blonde’s heart stung at the visible pain in Roy’s eye from a memory he was sure to learn of later. 

He also saw a bit of uncertainty in his husband’s face. He realized that he’s been awfully non-responsive to the two so far, and Roy was essentially bringing kids into the complicated equation of their relationship. Smiling, Ed squeezed Roy’s hand affirmatively. 

“Molly and Greg? Well, this is a surprise!” Roy’s grin lost it’s callous edge, seeing Ed’s positivity, and he pulled the both of them up to their original standing position. 

Ed turned to the little kids, “We’ll make sure to take great care of you. I’m not very good at doing things halfway.”

Molly nodded and replied, “kay”.

“You alk-mee too?” Gregory asked, hiding a bit behind his sister.

“A-alchemy? Yeah, I’m an alchemist.”

Roy muttered, “Greg’s blown away by alchemy. Thinks it’s the coolest thing he’s ever seen.”

Ed grinned broadly, “Well, that’s good! Cuz you’re gonna be around a lot of alchemy, right?”

The little boy’s eye sparkled, “Ya!”

Roy proffered the hand not already taken by Ed, which Molly took gladly. Greg was hand-in-hand with Molly as Roy led the little pack towards the Hughes’s, Gracia looking like she might cry, and Elicia already running to give her Uncle Roy a big welcome hug.

Ed looked back at the two kids- technically his two kids. ‘Oh, fuck I’ve got kids!’ he thought, finding himself increasingly excited about the prospect. Plus, if these kids already thought alchemy was awesome, what could possibly go wrong?


End file.
